Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 2011)
Association says national health care law would be good for rural areas 11 1 1 • 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 . 1 111.....Il,In.II Local administrator says complete effects not clear yet Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Library University of Oregon Eugene. OR 97403 By David Sykes A federal judge in Florida Monday ruled President Barack Obama’s entire health care over haul was unconstitutional because of the provision H EPPN ER imes VOL. 130 NO. 5 10 Pages Wednesday, February 2,2011 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Locals question ODOT on fixing extreme curve at Horseshoe Bend Trucks over 50-ft long not allowed By David Sykes Is it possible that extreme comer on highway 74 West of lone known as Horseshoe Bend will ever get straightened out? That question was once again put to officials of ODOT (Oregon Depart ment of Transportation) who were guest speakers at the Heppner Chamber of Commerce last week. “You have heard this many times before, but can something ever be done about Horse shoe B end?”, Heppner resident John Edmundson asked Tomas Strandberg, Public Information Officer for ODOT. Strandberg said the amount of traffic on that portion of highway did not justify the cost involved in straightening it out, and that is the main reason it has not been fixed. Flash ing lights and signs have been added to warn drivers about the comer. “We have bottlenecks all over the district, but we are hurting because of a lack of funds,” said Ken Patterson also of ODOT who also attended the meeting. Daye Stone of Hep pner said it is an economic issue for the area especially with the wind farm develop ment that is coming. “Eco nomically you can’t drive a 50 foot truck down that road,” he said. Strandberg urged local people to stay involved. “Stay engaged,” he said. Morrow County Health District Administrator Michael Blauer says national health care law could help rural districts' bot tom line with more insurance payments. The law was ruled unconstitutional by a Florida judge Monday. Photo by David Sykes law unfolds. If there are cuts in Medicare coverage or pay ment under the new law that would “be a concern for us,” Blauer said, as 56 percent of the medical district’s rev enue comes from Medicare. In comparison, 12 percent comes from Medicaid, 36 percent from commercial, only nine percent from self pay and one percent from workman’s compensation. He said if there is insurance reform and more people are covered, there would be fewer times the district would have to absorb the cost of treating people who do not pay their bills. -See HEALTH CARE/Page SEVEN Les Schwab works on upgrades Les Schwab employees (l-r) Richard Schmidt, Manager John Gould and Ian Heard show work being done on new drive in area at Les Schwab Tires in Heppner. The company is putting in new lifts out front along with a new concrete drive in area. Inside, the cement floor of the front work area was also com pletely torn out and replaced, which will improve drainage and also make for a more level work area, Gould says. The manager also said a different style scissor lift will be installed out front in place of the older tube style. Gould said the improvements should be completed in about a week. Meanwhile they are servicing customers behind the store. -Photo by David Sykes Tom Shear resigns from lone Schools Top photo: This picture of Horseshoe Bend on Hwy 74 West of lone shows the extreme curve local people have been pressuring Oregon Department of Transportation to fix for many years, came up at Chamber of Commerce last week. Bottom Photo: John Edmundson (right) looks on while Thomas Strandberg of ODOT explains the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program. Edmundson later questioned Strand berg about Horseshoe Bend west of lone. Strandberg also explained how highway funding in Oregon works, saying it all comes down to the STIP, or Statewide Transportation Improve ment Program. “That is how projects get funded. get into the STIP,” he said. “Someone may get pas sionate about what needs to be done and brings it to out attention,” he told the Chamber. He urged people -See CHAMBER-ODOT/ PAGE SEVEN Health district approves over $587 thousand for federally mandated electronic records hardware and software purchase By April Sykes Morrow County Health District Board ap proved a proposal to pur chase electronic medical records hardware and soft ware at a cost of around $587,569 from a company called Healthland. The dis trict is complying with a federal mandate to change from paper patient records to electronic. Chief Financial Of ficer Nicole Mahoney said that she believes that the purchase will be around 90 percent reimbursable with federal funds, resulting in a cash outlay of around $125,000 for the district. However, in the in terim, the district must pay for the equipment and soft ware up front and sought a mandating that Americans get health insurance starting in 2014. The ruling puls the future of the legislation in doubt. However, prior to the ruling the Heppner Ga zette sat down with Morrow County Health District Ad ministrator Michael Blauer to discuss the bill, officially known as the Patient Pro tection and Affordable Care Act, but more commonly called “Obamacare”, and its effects on rural health care. To start with, Blau er said it was too early to tell the complete effect of the legislation on rural hos pitals and health care, but he did lay out some of the positive and negatives he sees in the legislation. “In a lot of ways the reform would be good for us because it would cause more people to be come insured,” Blauer said, “and that would mean more revenue for us.” He said more people in rural ar eas tend to be uninsured than in urban areas, a fact backed up by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA), which Blauer cited as a resource he uses to gauge the effect of the health care legislation on our local health district. The NRHA says in the smallest and most remote rural areas the un insured rate is 23 percent, compared to an urban rate of 19 percent. “A lot of what is going on now (with the new law) has to do with insurance and the insur ance companies. What we have seen from health care reform has dealt with the insurance side of the busi ness,” Blauer said. He said he felt the direct effect of medical care and other is sues for rural health district would come out later as the loan to that end. Monday night the board approved a $500,000 24-month loan proposal from the Bank of Eastern Oregon. BEO Pres ident Jeff Bailey said in a letter to the district that the bank would loan the funds at a 4.25 percent interest rate with a $2,500 loan fee. Mahoney said that the district inquired about ob taining a loan from two lo cal banks and two national companies but commented, “They couldn't come close to the BEO offer.” The district has to obtain prior approval from USDA, which is not antici pated to be a problem, said Mahoney. D i s t r i c t C EO Michael Blauer said that Healthland has been good to deal with. “We’ve got a great deal on the table,” he said. Blauer also told the board that Pioneer Me morial Hospital’s new CT scanner has been delivered and is expected to be up and running by February 8. Also at the meet ing the board appointed David Bums from Irrigon as the new board member, replacing Linda LaRue. Board Chair Larry Mills told Burns that the board welcomed him on board and appreciated him “step ping up and representing Irrigon”, but reminded him that although he is from Irri gon, he represents the entire county. Board positions are -See HEALTH DISTRICT Page SEVEN By April Sykes The lone School Board accepted the resigna tion of Tom Shear, art and shop teacher, at the January 25 regular meeting. ISD Principal Jerry Archer commented that Shear was a “great indi vidual”, as a teacher and a person. “I don’t know where else you would find an art/shop teacher. We’re really going to miss him,” added Archer. Also at the meet ing the board received in formation on the diploma requirements. To receive a regular diploma, a student must have four English/ language arts credits; three mathematics (with the class of 2014 required to take algebra I and above); two science classes (thrpe cred its for the class of 2010 and above); one physi cal education credit, one health credit; one second language, the arts or career and technical ed credit; nine electives (six starting with the class of 2012) for a total of 24 credits. To receive a modi fied diplom a, students must have four English/ language arts credit, two mathematics, two science, two social sciences, one PE, one health, one second language, the arts, career or technical; 12 electives-24 credits. For an extended di ploma, students must have two English/language arts credits; two mathematics; two science; three social science; one PE; one health; one second language, the arts, career and technical ed-12 credits, not including more than six credits earned in a self-contained special education classroom. S u p erin ten d en t Mark Mulvihill said that all students receiving diplo- mas may walk in graduation exercises and no one would necessarily know which di ploma the students receive. However, students receiv ing modified diplomas and below would probably not get into a four-year col lege. In other business at the meeting, the board: -heard a presenta tion from Mary Apple on a possible agenda for the char ter school summit planned by the ESD on March 8 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., tentatively set at the Pend leton Convention Center. The draft agenda includes sessions on charter school law, board configuration, policies, fiscal information. Division 22 standards, spe cial populations, licensure, innovative charter schools, virtual schools, transporta tion, federal grants and a -See IONE SCHOOLS/Page SEVEN Attorneys agree to no bail for Crum During the p re trial hearing at the Mor row County Courthouse on January 27 for Steven Crum, Defense Attorney Cara Davis and Department of Justice Attorney Andrew Campbell agreed to no bail at this time. Crum, who appeared via video, was indicted by a grand jury on October 12 on the counts of Murder with a Firearm - Pregnant Victim; Murder with a Firearm; Unlawful Use of a Weapon with a Firearm; and Aggravated Theft in the First Degree. He is currently lodged in the Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facilities in The Dalles. The body o f 30 year old Jessica Killian was found on October 4 on the Crum property off Ella Road near lone. Another pre-trial date has been set for May 12 at 9 a.m. Trial readiness is set for November 10 and trial is set for December 5-16. t)ti Open House February 4th Coííl n ! F ree L u n c I h 10:00 Dl) am " 2:00 pM Hamburgers & Hot Dogs Open House Special - January 31 st-February 4th- All Case Sr Fleet Guard Filters 20% O FF Limited to stock on hand M o r r o w C o u n t y G r a in G r o w e r s L e x in g to n 9 8 9 -8 2 2 1 » 1 -8 0 0 -4 5 2 -7 3 9 6 Fw farm equlpmwit, rtiK «nr w rt alto »Iwww m cii nft
